Failure
by fulofhyperness
Summary: Naruto is just a happy hyper knucklehead...right? NinjaAU - boyxboy - don't like? don't read!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey-o Hyper Readers! I'm back with a brand new story filled with my beloved angst! I hope you all like it!**

**Give a big thanks to my beta Kaiji Maeda Sama!  
**

**Enjoy~!  
**

The thieves quickly took off from the small camp and into the trees.

"I'll get them! Leave it to me!" shouted a blond genin as he ran ahead of his teammates.

"Naruto! Wait!" but it was too late, he wasn't even visible through the dense trees anymore. The jonin leader was concerned. "Shit." He swore under his breath.

A few moments later, yelling was heard from within the woods and Naruto stumbled back to their camp. Blood was splattered across his orange jumpsuit and covered his hands. A hand reached up to scratch at the back of his head. "I guess they got away from me." He chuckled.

"But…but the blood." One of the teammates, Sakura, finally said after a few moments of silence.

"What?" Naruto looked highly confused as he glanced at himself. "Oh." He sighed. "I must have nicked one or something." Naruto's signature fox-grin graced his face.

"Baka." The other teammate, Sasuke, muttered as Sakura punched the blond boy in the head. "How do you always manage to screw up the most menial tasks?"

Naruto looked up as the raven spoke; his normally warm blue eyes had turned to cold stone. But as fast as it had appeared, it was gone. Sasuke shivered.

"I don't know, pure talent?" Naruto laughed.

Kakashi turned away from the scene of his students arguing, thinking to himself of what could have happened in such a short time. "Naruto, perhaps you should change into some clean clothes?" he suggested.

"Oh, right! Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto hollered. He dug around in his backpack for yet another horrendous jumpsuit and started for the woods to get dressed.

"Wait." The teacher called. "Sasuke, you go with him. I don't want those bandits coming back and attacking him while he's alone."

Naruto stopped in his tracks, and for the briefest of moments, he seemed to pale. "I'm sure I'll be fine." He said quietly. The boy turned around and flashed a thumbs-up. "I don't need a chaperone sensei!" Without another word, he took off again.

Kakashi sighed. "I don't care what he says, go with him Sasuke."

"Do I have to?" Sasuke whined.

"…"

"Hn." Sasuke took off after Naruto into the woods.

After only running for a few moments, Sasuke caught up with the hyperactive blond. As he approached, he noticed Naruto was already disrobing. The sight shocked him. Covering the boy's body were bruises of all shapes and colors; as if they had been coming daily for years. Scars littered the boy's arms; but no fresh wound appeared. 'So, all that blood did come from the enemy.' Sasuke thought to himself.

Naruto walked over to a stream that was a few feet away to wash the blood from his hands. "Damn." He swore as his own skin became more visible. "It happened again. I lost control!" Naruto smacked his reflection in the water, making the cool liquid splash around. "Why am I such a fuck up? Why am I such a failure?" Tears ran freely down his scarred face as he leaned against a tree, his clean jacket still on the ground.

Sasuke thought this was as good a time as any to make his presence known. "What dobe, you can't make a simple mistake without crying like a girl?" he said as he moved closer to the boy.

Naruto gasped, hastily wiping the tears from his face. "I wasn't crying!" he insisted as he grabbed his jacket and put it on, zipping it quickly and pulling on the sleeves. 'How much did he see?' Naruto wondered to himself.

"Sure." Sasuke smirked.

"Bastard." Naruto swore. "What are you doing here anyway? I said I would be fine!"

Sasuke smirked again. "Kakashi said he didn't care what you said, I should follow your stupid ass anyway."

That stony coldness flashed through Naruto's eyes again. "Oh." Was all he said before nudging past Sasuke to head back to camp. "I see."

Sasuke reached out and put a hand on the shoulder of his teammate, making the boy stop. "Look Naruto, we all make mistakes. It happens. It doesn't make you a failure, no matter how much we joke around with you." He didn't know why he felt the need to reassure the boy.

Naruto shook the raven's hand off. "Thanks." He said without looking back at his teammate.

This side of Naruto was new to the raven…and it was one he didn't like.

* * *

Kakashi sat down and went over their mission scroll to be sure those bandits didn't get them off track.

**_Delivery  
C-Rank_**

_Deliver package to Kazekage in Suna.  
Potential Enemies: simple bandits  
Estimated completion time: 6 days_

'Let's see.' He thought to himself. 'Those bandits attacked after we already set up camp for the night, so time-wise we're fine. They didn't take the package, only some supplies.' He double checked to be sure. 'And we still have enough supplies to get us to Suna where we can restock.' Suddenly a rustling in some nearby bushes caught his attention.

Naruto crashed through the bushes and back into camp, perky as ever. "Sakura-chan!" he called as he moved over to the campfire where the pinkette was sitting. "Sakura! Were you worried about me while I was gone? Because they didn't get me! I'm fine! Not that it would have mattered, I can take on any challenge! I'm going to become Hokage one day you know!"

Sakura just sighed. "I was actually kind of hoping they'd come back and carry you off so you'd never come back. You did let the enemies get away…again…"

Naruto just laughed. "You're so funny Sakura-chan!" But there was no mirth in the boy's eyes.

* * *

All four of the ninjas climbed into their tents as night fell. Naruto forgot to bring his own tent (again) so Sasuke offered to share.

Naruto listened to Sasuke as he slowly fell asleep, waiting for the breaths to even out completely before rising and leaving the tent. He walked slowly back out into the woods, making no noise at all.

He finally made his way into a clearing and sunk to the ground, memories of earlier today rushing back to him.

_"I'll get them! Leave it to me!" he shouted as he ran after the two bandits that had raided their camp. They were rogues, and untrained; a couple of brothers attacking only to survive, but he wanted to show his team that he could do something right for once._

_Within a minute he had caught up with the bandits in a clearing. "Hey!" he yelled at them. "Give us back our stuff!"_

_"And who is going to make us?" the older one asked._

_"I am!"_

_The younger of the two, whom was younger than Naruto himself, just laughed. "What? A pipsqueak like you? Ha! You can't even dress yourself right! It's the middle of summer and you're wearing a sweatsuit! You're such an idiot, how could you possibly stop us?"_

_Naruto's blood boiled. "Stop." He growled._

_The bandits gasped as Naruto looked up. His eyes were blood red._

_"What's going on brother?" the younger asked. "What's wrong with his eyes?"_

_The older bandit shivered. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not good. We should really lea-"_

_Before either brother could react, Naruto had tackled the older one, shoving his fist easily through his chest and pulling out his heart. Blood flowed over his hands and splattered across his clothes. He slowly stood and turned to face the younger of the two. "Go." He growled._

_Tears ran down the kid's face as he slowly backed away; turning to run only once Naruto was out of sight._

_Naruto stood still for another few moments as the demon chakra receded. Red eyes returned to blue as he looked down at the dead body. He quickly dropped the heart from his hand. "God, what have I done? How did this even happen?" This was the second time he'd lost control of the dark power within him, and he didn't like the feeling of it._

_As he wandered back to camp, he decided he would just tell them the bandits got away. No need for them to know the truth…_

The blond boy cried out. "Why does this keep happening to me?" The moon had no reply for him.

He slowly took off his jacket, the scars on his forearms seeming to glow in the moonlight. He pulled out a shiny new kunai, planning to add to the collection. "I'm such a failure. Sakura was right, it would be better if I just never came back. It would be better if I was dead – I couldn't hurt people that way." He said to himself as he sliced his wrists open, watched them bleed and heal themselves almost instantly. "This sucks! I can't even cut myself properly!"

Raising the kunai to his throat his hand shook. "I wonder what would happen if I slit my throat. Would it heal before I died?"

Just as he was about to press the sharp blade into his flesh a hand reached out and laid on top of his. "No Naruto. We'd be sad if you died."

**Well, let me know what you all think! Should I continue?**

**Love you all, and I couldn't do it without you!  
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**Peace out!  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Well Hyper fans, I'm finally finished with chapter 2! I really hope you like this!**

**A big thank you to my beta Kaiji Maeda Sama!**

**Enjoy~!**

"No Naruto. We'd be sad if you died."

Naruto turned around and looked up into obsidian eyes. "S-Sasuke?"

The sight before the raven was shocking to say the least. Naruto looked dilapidated and torn apart; like someone had just taken his entire world and then decided to kick him. "What is going on Naruto? Is this because of the bandits? It's ok that they got away."

Suddenly the pure despair in those blue eyes turned to venomous anger. "You don't know anything about me, so just stay the hell away. Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine."

"But, Naruto, you were going to kill yourself!" Sasuke argued.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto said, looking at the ground as he spoke.

This was the same Naruto Sasuke had seen when Kakashi asked him to follow the blond. The Naruto that unnerved him. The Naruto that made his cold heart hurt for someone other than himself. "You're right, I don't know anything about you. So, why don't you clue me in?"

Slowly the blond rose with a grace Sasuke didn't know the boy had. "Just go away." He growled

"I'm not leaving you here to die Naruto. Now we can either sit here, or you can come with me back to camp, either way I'm not going away." Sasuke retorted, the confidence in his voice faked. The pure anger rolling off the boy was frightening.

"Fine." Naruto snapped as he pushed past Sasuke towards camp.

Sasuke followed without a word.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to find Naruto sleeping peacefully on the other side of the tent. 'Was it just a dream?' he wondered.

He quickly got dressed and moved out of the tent to find Kakashi already awake. "So, how was your night?" the jonin asked, his eyes never leaving the page of his perverted orange book.

Sasuke wondered what, if anything, he should tell their sensei. "Fine." The raven answered shortly. He decided on saying nothing about Naruto until he knew more.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing.

Soon, Sakura woke up and Kakashi finally had to go and wake up Naruto.

"That idiot is always sleeping in!" Sakura scoffed.

Sasuke frowned. Had she always been this hard on the blond?

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto hollered, a huge grin on his face. "Hey Sakura, I wish I could have shared a tent with you!" The boy winked suggestively.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Sakura punched they boy much harder than was necessary. 'Yeah, last night was a dream. How could I think otherwise? He's too stupid to be that depressed.'

The rest of their trip to Suna went without complications other than desert weather. After three days of travel they ended up covered in sand and standing in the office of the Kazekage.

Kakashi reached in his bag and pulled out the package they were to deliver and set it on the man's desk. "Here you are."

"Ah, thank you." The Kazekage replied. "There are rooms for you all in the local hotel if you would like to rest for the night."

Kakashi bowed. "Thank you Kazekage-sama. We appreciate that." And with that, all four of the leaf-nin left the office and headed towards the hotel.

"Kakashi-sensei? What was in that package?" Naruto asked.

The teacher looked down with his one visible eye. "I don't know and I don't care. Let's just stay out of trouble while we're here and get home as soon as possible."

The hotel rooms were much the same as the tents: Sakura got her own, as did Kakashi, and Sasuke had to share with Naruto.

"Why do I have to share with _him?_" Naruto whined.

"Because I can't room with students, Sakura is a girl and can't room with boys, and we only have three rooms!" Kakashi explained with a strain in his voice. He really didn't like having to put up with Naruto's antics at times; and it was obvious.

Sasuke and Naruto settled into their rooms and Naruto almost immediately took off without a word. This left Sasuke to wander alone… or at least it should have.

He didn't know how, but Sakura seemed to have some sort of alarm that went off in her little pink head that told her where and when to find Sasuke when he was alone, and it annoyed the piss out of the raven.

Sasuke wandered down the streets of Suna, his pink shadow in tow, not really knowing where he was going. "Hey Sakura." He said suddenly.

Her little fangirl ears perked up immediately. "Yes Sasuke-kun?"

He groaned quietly, not even believing he was going to talk to her. "What do you think about Naruto?"

"Ack, don't even get me started! He's so annoying! I mean, the way he's always hitting on me is so pathetic; I'm so far out of his league it's sad."

"Hypocrite." Sasuke mumbled.

"Huh?" Sakura asked stupidly.

"Nothing."

"Oh, anyway, like I was saying, Naruto is just dumb and worthless. He brings down the whole team! I mean, just look at what happened the other day. He couldn't even stop a couple of simple bandits, let alone a real enemy! He's loud, clumsy, arrogant, and I just wish he was gone!" Sakura was breathing heavily after her little rant.

Sasuke frowned, his eyes looking straight ahead. The words Sakura said about the blond disturbed him greatly; although he was unsure as to why.

"Sasuke-kun? What's wrong." Sakura cooed.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he sped up a bit, trying to get away from the kunoichi.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, making Sakura run into his back. In front of him was an area that looked like it was used for training by the Suna ninja. Wide open areas of sand that had been flattened down lay in front of him. But was made him stop was the sight of Naruto talking to someone with bright red hair and dark rings around his eyes. 'Who the hell?' Sasuke wondered.

* * *

"You're just like me." Was the gravelly voice that came from behind Naruto, making him turn to meet the voice.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, suspicion evident in his voice.

"You're like me. We are the same."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Gaara." The stranger replied.

"Well, Gaara, I don't have a clue what you're talking about, but my name's Naruto! It's nice to meet you!" A signature grin appeared on the tan face as he thrust his hand out to be shaken.

Gaara just stared at the hand before him, a non-existent eyebrow raised. 'He's willing to make contact with me? Interesting.'

After several awkward minutes, Naruto finally lowered his hand and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you don't shake hands. I understand." He half-heartedly chuckled.

Gaara took the time to study the other boy. He was surprised to see how much the same they were. It frightened him a little; but overwhelmed him as well. Maybe he could finally have a human being that doesn't just run in fear from him, someone that he can actually talk to, someone he could call a friend.

"Naruto!" another voice called.

Naruto and Gaara looked over to see Sasuke running up to them. "Naruto, what are you doing?" the boy hissed.

"I'm talking to my new friend Gaara!" he proclaimed.

Sakura snorted behind Sasuke making Gaara glare at her. "Like you'd have any friends Naruto."

Stony coldness flashed through blue eyes.

"Come on Naruto. Kakashi told us to stay out of trouble." Sasuke said, steering Naruto away. 'And this guy looks like trouble. There's something off about him.'

"Bye Gaara!" Naruto hollered over his shoulder as they headed back to the hotel.

* * *

Once again, Sasuke was awakened during the night by the sound of Naruto moving around. At first, he simply laid in bed, listening to see if Naruto would leave the room. When no such indicators came, he slightly sat up in bed and looked over to where Naruto was supposed to be sleeping.

Instead of being in bed though, Sasuke found Naruto on the floor between their beds, his back against the side of the bed. Another new kunai in his hand; making another set of slices that healed as quickly as they were cut.

"Fuck." The blond whispered as he cut particularly deep into one of his wrists. That one bled for a bit before healing back up. The blond sighed, as if disappointed it didn't last longer.

Sasuke watched as Naruto grabbed a cloth and began cleaning up the bit of blood on the floor before crawling into his bed.

'The other night was definitely not a dream. But what do I do about it now?'

**Well, let me know what you all think! I love hearing your thoughts and suggestions!**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Time for Chapter 3! A big round of applause for my beta Kaiji Maeda Sama!**

**Enjoy~!**

The next morning, Team 7 stood at the gates of Suna running a quick supply check before they took off into the desert.

"Weapons, check. Food, check. Basic medical supplies, check. Tents, check. Clothing, check. I think that's everything." Kakashi said as he closed his bag back up, his students following suit. "Everyone ready?"

"Yup!" Sakura replied.

"Hn." Sasuke was next.

"…" Naruto said nothing.

"Naruto?" Kakashi prodded, poking the boy slightly.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm ready." Naruto said. Truth was, he was too busy thinking. He could not get that red-headed boy out of his head. 'What did he mean? How is he like me? That makes no sense – he doesn't even know me!' His head pounded with these thoughts as they took off for their homes in Konoha.

During the three day journey home, Naruto barely said a single word; something that concerned Sasuke greatly. Normally the boy couldn't shut up to save his life. 'What is going on in that blond head of yours Naruto?'

* * *

Passing through the large gates of Konoha made all four ninja sigh heavily. They were home. But before they could do anything they had to go meet with the Hokage to file their report.

Sasuke walked next to Naruto as they made their way to the Hokage tower; noting the thoughtful look in the boy's eyes. 'This is so strange.' He thought to himself. But what make him even more concerned was that as they reached the doors to the Hokage's office, Naruto lifted his head, took a deep breath, and plastered a huge grin on his face.

Naruto kicked open the doors! "Hey old man! We're back from our mission!" he yelled into the room. Kakashi just shook his head.

"Naruto! You have to show some respect to the Hokage!" Iruka, their sensei from the academy, was sitting at the missions desk with the Hokage.

"Aw, I do show him respect Iruka-sensei." Naruto half-pouted as he spoke.

The Hokage just laughed. "It's alright, it's been a long journey for you four. So, did it all go well?"

Kakashi stepped in front of the desk. "Package was delivered with only one minor setback. A couple of rouge bandits hit us for some food on our first night. Otherwise the mission was smooth."

"Thank you Kakashi. Now, since this was a long c-rank mission, I'm giving you all a couple days off from missions to recuperate. Just don't have too much fun now!" the Hokage said with mirth in his eyes.

* * *

Naruto couldn't get out of that office fast enough. All he wanted to do was go to his apartment and sort out his thoughts. He was sick of smiling for the people who didn't even care.

"Naruto!" Sasuke hollered behind him.

'Damn' Naruto thought as he turned to face the raven, a huge smile coating his face. "What do you want Sasuke?"

"Do you want to get some dinner with me? I know a good place." Sasuke offered. He really needed to talk to the blond.

Naruto's smile faltered for less than a second before coming back stronger than ever. "Since when do _you_ want to hang out with _me_?" he asked, not hiding the shock in his voice.

Sasuke couldn't help but cringe as he thought back to how he's always treated Naruto as an irritation. But after their night in Suna, Sasuke had come to a decision. He was going to make a conscious effort to befriend Naruto. "Doesn't matter. Come on, it's my treat!" Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and started steering him to the restaurant that he had in mind.

'What the hell is he playing at?' Naruto wondered. 'Oh God, is this about the other night? Oh no! I don't want pity!' Naruto bucked the hand off his shoulder and walked beside Sasuke. "Alright." He yelled in what he hoped was a happy tone.

As they walked down the streets, Sasuke couldn't help but notice something strange. Every person was staring at them. 'Is it really that strange for me to be with Naruto? Do people really think I hate him so much that they stare when we walk down the street together?' Sasuke looked over to see how Naruto was taking the scrutiny, but it seemed like he didn't even notice.

"Hey, this is the place!" Sasuke said, reaching out to stop Naruto as he walked right past the restaurant

Naruto looked up at the sign and sighed. "Can't we just go get ramen or something?" he asked hopefully. "Maybe at Ichiraku?"

"Naruto, I don't like ramen. It's way too salty for my tastes, and if I'm paying then I want to eat something I like." Sasuke stated shortly.

Naruto nods his head. "Ok, fine." He spoke as he followed Sasuke through the double doors. Naruto had to force away his cringe as every person in the place turned to glare at him. It took every fiber of his being to keep that smile on his face.

Within a minute, the hostess walked over. "Hello Uchiha-san! Table for one?"

Sasuke frowned. Apparently they even thought he hated Naruto here. "No, table for two. My friend is joining me." He said as he gestured to the blond.

The hostess looked up and gasped. "I'm sorry _sir_" she emphasized the word with malice, "but we don't serve your kind here." The hiss in her tone as she spoke to him reminded Naruto of a snake.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed a waiter had grabbed a broom to usher him out. "I understand. I'll just go. Maybe some other time Sasuke." Naruto turned on his heel and headed out of the restaurant.

"What the hell was that about? What do you mean you won't serve him here?" Sasuke demanded.

But the hostess ignored his question. "So, table for one?" she asked.

"No." Sasuke growled as he left the restaurant, hoping to catch Naruto. The blond was only about a block away when Sasuke spotted him, he jogged to catch up.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that." He sighed.

Naruto just stared at the sidewalk.

"Look, do you still want to go to Ichiraku?" Sasuke asked hopefully. He feared he had just made things worse.

Naruto didn't answer, just kept staring at the sidewalk as he marched towards his apartment.

Sasuke followed in silence; he was curious. He'd never seen where Naruto lived.

After several minutes of walking, the streets started looking less cared for, and the buildings had graffiti on the walls. "Naruto, are we going the right way?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto turned left sharply and headed up some stairs to a dismal apartment building. The paint on the outer walls was peeling, the roof had holes that were boarded up with makeshift patches, and he could clearly see cockroaches crawling across the landing.

"What the hell are you still following me for?" Naruto growled as he unlocked his door, never once looking at Sasuke.

"I..I just wanted to-"

"Wanted to what? See what a shit hole I live in so you can embarrass me some more?" Naruto spat. He was so sick of pretending. This was his home and he should be able to be himself here. "Why don't you just leave me the hell alone? Go back to how things were between us."

"Naruto. I wanted to talk about the other night." Sasuke summoned his courage. This Naruto was frightening.

"Oh, so now you fucking pity me?" Naruto finally looked at the raven, a piercing glare set in his normally warm blue eye. "I don't want that pity. Pity is just a poor excuse so people don't have to feel guilty that their lives are better than others! Do you want pity because your parents died? No! So don't feed me that bullshit!"

Naruto turned away and pushed the door open. Sasuke only caught a glimpse, but saw only minimal furniture before the door was firmly slammed in his face.

Sasuke was even more confused than ever about Naruto.

* * *

Naruto shut the door to his apartment, placing his back against it and sliding down to the floor. "Stupid Sasuke. Who does he think he is, pitying me like that?" he said aloud to the empty room. "Pity is the lowest form of compassion. You'd think Mr. Smarty-pants would know that by now."

Suddenly, Naruto's stomach growled noisily. "Yes, yes, I hear you." He slowly got up and made his way to the kitchen, placing a kettle full of water on the stove to boil as he pulled out a cup of instant ramen. "Yet another night of this crap. Oh well." He sighed.

A couple minutes went by before the kettle started whistling. Naruto went to turn off the stove and grab the kettle to pour the water into the cup, letting the noodles cook.

As he stared at the red-hot bottom of the kettle, his eyes started to glaze over a bit. "Stupid Sasuke. Stupid villagers. Stupid me…" he chanted slowly as he pressed the kettle against his forearm, not even feeling the slightest bit of pain from the burn. He pressed that kettle against his skin until the flesh was black.

He sighed as his skin returned to normal instantly. "Stupid Kyuubi."

Naruto grabbed his cup and sat on the single chair by his table and ate quickly before heading to bed. Thoughts of Gaara sinking back into his brain. 'I kind of hope he was right. I kind of hope we are alike, maybe then I can actually have a friend.'

**Poor Naru! I love him so much…I hate writing sadness in his life…**

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	4. Chapter 4

**The amount of support I'm receiving is overwhelming! Thanks you so much to every hyper reader out there!**

**A big thank you to my amazing beta: Kaiji Maeda Sama**

**Beta's Note: Don't mind the comment from this glorious author at the bottom of the chapter. She doesn't know what she is talking about. Her works are better than mine.  
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**Enjoy~!**

Two days of their mission-less time passed, and Sasuke had seen neither hide, nor hair of Naruto. But day three would be different; Kakashi had claimed that they didn't need time off, so they would be using this time for training.

Sasuke walked slowly through the streets of Konoha. The sun wasn't up yet and the streets were quiet. The only sound in the air was that of Sasuke's own footsteps. 'Where the hell has Naruto been?' he wondered. It struck him that this was the first time Sasuke had wondered this thought – the first time he'd cared enough to notice the absence.

The raven finally arrived at the designated training grounds just as the sun started to peek over the horizon. The brilliant orange light streaked through the trees, leaving strange patterns on the ground.

"SASUKE-KUN!" A loud feminine voice echoed through the serene morning. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said again as she got closer. "You're early."

"As are you." Sasuke responded without looking at her.

"Yeah, I was actually kind of hoping to catch you here." She admitted.

'There's that stupid radar of hers again.' Sasuke sighed. "Oh? Why is that?" he asked, not really caring.

"Well, I was wondering if…um…well…if you'd maybe, you know, if you're not busy or anything, perhaps take me on a…a…a date?" Sakura stared at the ground, a light blush covering her cheeks. This was her big chance. No Naruto to hit on her, no Kakashi randomly popping in, no Ino to ruin it for her by calling her names.

"No." Sasuke replied dismissively.

Sakura's head shot up. "Wh-what?"

"Don't you think we're a bit young for dating anyway? We're only 12!" he sighed.

"But Sasuke-kun, I love you." She replied.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, stepping around the kunoichi as Naruto stepped into the clearing.

"Great, the one time he's on time." Sakura groaned under her breath, sending a glare towards the blond.

Sasuke ran up to meet his teammate. "Naruto, where you been? I haven't seen you since the last miss-"

Naruto lifted his head and scratched his neck, a huge smile on his face. "Heh, yeah, I kind of kept to myself the last couple days."

"What happened to your eye." Sasuke asked, a little worried. Naruto's left eye was bruised and swollen to the point that it would not open.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, looking seemingly confused.

Sasuke gripped Naruto's shoulders. "Don't play dumb with me! That looks like it hurts a hell of a lot!" The raven was practically growling at the boy. Why couldn't Naruto see he was just trying to help?

"I'm not dumb Sasuke." Naruto whispered. "And I don't appreciate you insinuating it."

Sasuke felt like punching some sense into the boy, but really, what would that solve? "Fine, Naruto, don't tell me about your eye. I was just worried about you, but it doesn't matter."

"Don't waste your time on him Sasuke. He's just a dumb idiot; it's not like he has feelings that will get hurt anyway." Sakura yawned as she spoke, casually hiding her mouth behind her hand. "Where's sensei?"

Sasuke sighed dejectedly and dropped his hands from Naruto's shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

About two awkward hours and a puff of smoke later, Kakashi was standing in front of his students. "Well guys, are we ready for training?" The quiet responses were new to the jonin; but he said nothing.

* * *

_The group of men from the village chased the blond boy down the street._

_"Come back here you fucking punk!" one of them yelled as Naruto zigzagged through alleyways trying to lose them._

_'Shit!' the boy swore to himself. 'Why did I leave my apartment after dark? This was really stupid of me!'_

_Turning a corner, Naruto came face to face with another one of the villagers, a baseball bat in his hand. "I found him!" he called to the group behind._

_"About damn time." Said another, coming up behind Naruto. "I was actually getting kind of sick of chasing." A deep chuckle rumbled through the man's stomach._

_Naruto gulped._

_Firm hands came down on his shoulders. "Go on man, hit him!"_

_The first strike of the bat stung only a little. As did the second. It was the third hit that the pain finally exploded across Naruto's nerves._

_Soon, more men had caught up with these two and joined in the beating. They used whatever they had available to hurt the boy. Feet, fists, bats, hunks of wood, bricks, one man even brought his wife's frying pan._

_Naruto had fallen to the ground, a firm strike to his face with a brick causing him to curl into a defensive fetal position and just pray for it to be over. He had no clue who he was praying to though; what god would let this happen?_

_Not soon enough, velvety darkness overtook Naruto._

_Several hours later he awoke in an alleyway, bleeding from countless wounds. Naruto had to half-drag himself to his apartment, a trail of blood following him._

_"Damnit!" he swore as he closed his door. He hissed softly as he touched his eye. "I have training tomorrow too. This is going to suck."_

_'Kyuubi! You damn demon, come out and heal me!' Naruto shouted internally. Ever since team 7's encounter with Zabuza and Haku, Naruto had been able to communicate with the demon fox housed in his body._

_A deep growl rumbled in Naruto's ears. 'Brat, I'm tired as hell, I'll heal you in the morning!'_

_'I may not be here in the morning if you don't heal me now!' Naruto spat back._

_'Fine, fine, but you get to keep that shiner for waking me up.' _

_Naruto groaned but accepted; some healing was better than none._

_He would have to play the black eye off tomorrow. He couldn't let them know what happened. He couldn't let his teammates know he couldn't outrun civilians – that he had failed…again…_

* * *

Naruto collapsed on his bed. It had been a long day of training and avoiding Sasuke's questions about his eye.

'Damn Kyuubi. Why won't you heal this damn thing?' Naruto hissed in his own thoughts. 'Damn demon, only healing things I don't want him to.'

The blond sighed as he rolled back off his bed. There was no way he could go to bed like this. He pulled off his orange jumpsuit, shivering as he saw the color. It was one of the many props he'd employed to complete his happy idiot facade. He threw the offending clothing into the hamper in the corner of the room and walked into the adjoining bathroom.

Stepping in the shower, he turned on the water, letting the cold water burn on his flesh as he waited for it to warm up. Once it was a comfortable temperature, his resolve crumbled. The perpetual knot in his chest too much to bear any longer. Sobs wracked his body as he collapsed to the bottom of the tub and drew his knees to his chest.

He was so sick of being alive; but as much as he thought about dying, he could never bring himself to an actual suicide attempt. 'You're still young, you've got plenty of time to end your life later.' A happy little voice in his head always told him. 'No need to do it right now. Save it for a time when it will be even better.' Sometimes it would just question him. 'Is this really the position you want people to find you in when they find your body?'

Tears mingled with the shower stream on his face, the only differentiation being the slight salty taste as the tears ran past his lips.

The outright sobbing lasted until the water in the shower was once again cold and Naruto forced himself to calm down enough to scrub his skin. He always scrubbed until his skin was raw, red, and painful – and sometimes he would scrub more. He did the same with his hair, desperate to get the filth that everyone else seemed to see off of his body.

Once he felt that he was clean enough, Naruto got out of the shower and used an old towel to dry himself off and put on his pajamas. As he crawled into bed, he hugged his pillow. "Why do they all have to hate me?" he asked it. "Why can't just one of them actually care?"

* * *

Sasuke had had enough! He couldn't let this slide anymore. It was time to bring in the big guns – it was time to go to Kakashi about Naruto. He wanted so much to let the boy know he did have friends, even if they didn't know how to show it. But he'd come to the realization that Naruto really didn't have friends. Sakura actually _hated_ the boy, and everyone else he'd talked to held either contempt or indifference.

Sasuke just didn't know what to do anymore.

He walked out of the Uchiha compound on the outskirts of Konoha into the main living district of the village – he was sure that Kakashi had to live somewhere around there.

"Sasuke?" a surprised voice forced the raven to turn. There was his sensei, a bag of groceries in one hand, his little orange book in the other. "What are you doing out here?"

"I need to speak with you sensei." Sasuke explained flatly. "It's…it's about Naruto."

"Naruto?" Kakashi's eye looked surprised. "What about him?"

"I think something is wrong with him. He seems…"

"Depressed?" Kakashi finished Sasuke's sentence.

Onyx eyes widened by a fraction. "Yeah, actually."

Kakashi just chuckled. "So, you noticed it, huh? I wasn't sure if you'd ever pull your head out of your own ass enough to see it."

This time Sasuke let shock cover his whole face. "What do you mean?"

"Naruto has been suffering for years, this is nothing new. In fact, the kid's been like this since he was probably 3 or 4." Kakashi explained with a sigh. "There are only a handful of us that have let our gaze linger long enough to see it. Most people don't give him a second glance – and that just adds to his sadness."

Sasuke gasped. "He's been like this for that long…and no one has said anything? No one has helped him?"

"What can we do? Until he himself decides what's going on isn't working, nothing will change. You can't force a person to get better." Kakashi patted the raven's head as he passed him. "Stop worrying about it. Things will be fine." With that, Kakashi was off to his home, oblivious to the seething boy behind him.

"You're wrong." Sasuke muttered under his breath as he glared as his teacher's back. "I will make him better, even if you won't help me."

**There you have it. Please send me reviews - I feel like this chapter is a bit off...like my writing has been a bit off lately...**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, sorry about the sporadic updates – but inspirations comes when it comes…**

**Oh, and in case any of you were wondering about Naruto's black eye in the last chapter…I realized a couple days after posting that I had left out a section (It was on my word processor, but somehow didn't make it to the actual chapter), so I updated chapter 4 with that section in it. You're welcome to go back and read it if you'd like!**

**A big thank you to my amazing beta Kaiji Maeda Sama!**

**This is heavily based (but not exactly the same as) episodes 20 and 21 – so bear with me!**

**Enjoy~!**

A month or so had passed by and Naruto was getting really sick of Sasuke trying to get him to "perk up" – whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. Naruto always thought he was pretty upbeat in public!

A shuffling sound alerted Naruto to the existence of a small poorly camouflaged box behind him. He sighed softly, forcing his face to contort to happiness.

Naruto turned around just in time to see the box shuffle and disappear into a puff of smoke. Suddenly, three kids popped out. "Ah, Konohamaru!" Naruto smiled as he spoke.

"Big Brother Naruto!" Konohamaru and his friends squealed. "We've been looking for you!"

"Oh?" Naruto asked in what he hoped was a cheerful tone. "Why's that?"

"We kind of hoped you could play with us!" The female friend squealed.

"Why play around with a bunch of kids? Naruto, you really are pathetic." Sakura's voice interjected into their conversation as she walked by.

Konohamaru wrinkled his nose. "Who's that ugly hag Big brother?"

Sakura slowly turned to face the group – there was murder in her eyes. "What did you just call me brat?" she growled.

The group of four all looked on in fear as Sakura started pushing up a sleeve and pulling her arm back for a punch. She looked really pissed.

Naruto and company turned and ran as fast as they could, the angry kunoichi chasing them through the streets, but the adventure was cut short as Konohamaru ran into someone. SMACK!

The person he ran into slowly turned around, his face covered in kabuki-type makeup. "That hurt you little punk!" he said as the mysterious man grabbed Konohamaru's shirt front and hoisted him off the ground.

A blonde girl next to him spoke up. "Stop that Kankuro. You'll just get us yelled at later." She waved her hand dismissively.

Naruto looked on. He didn't like where this was going. "Hey stop that! Put him down!"

"Ah, come one Temari." Kankuro whined. "Let's play with these punks before the strict one comes around!"

'Strict one?' Naruto wondered. That really didn't sound good.

Konohamaru thrashed around in Kankuro's grip, kicking the older boy in the stomach.

Kankuro gasped. "You're a pretty lively little punk. I'll enjoy punishing you."

Naruto growled. "You jerk!" He rushed at Kankuro, his fist raised, only to miss entirely.

"Leaf genin are weaker than I thought!" Kankuro laughed as he looked at Naruto on the ground.

"If you don't put him down, I will make you pay!" Naruto shouted again.

Kankuro growled. "You're starting to tick me off. As it is, I don't like little runts – especially ones that have such smart mouths on them. It just makes me want to break this kid more."

Temari sighed. "Look, this isn't on me, alright?"

"Well, once I punish this little squirt, I'll get that runt that won't shut up." Kankuro laughs.

Before anyone could make a move, a rock struck Kankuro in the hand, forcing him to drop Konohamaru.

"What the hell do you think you're doing terrorizing people in another's village?" Sasuke's voice came from a tree just above the group.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura squealed. Naruto had almost forgotten she was there.

'Damnit. I failed again. I couldn't protect Konohamaru.' Naruto swore internally. Pushing back tears he looked up at Sasuke.

"Oh look, yet another punk to piss me off!" Kankuro hissed.

"Get lost." Sasuke replied coolly.

"Why don't you come down here and say that do my face? You're the type of punk I despise the most!" Kankuro yelled.

"Kankuro, stop that. You're an embarrassment to our whole village." All eyes shifted to the other side of the tree Sasuke was sitting on. A red-head was hanging upside down from a branch.

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro looked scared.

'Wait a minute. That's the guy I met on our mission to Suna!' Naruto realized. 'The one who said I was just like him.'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'It's that guy that was talking to Naruto in Suna. I don't like him, although I'm not sure why. There's just something about him that bugs me.'

Gaara scanned the scene his older brother was causing. Teal eyes landed on Naruto and widened a minuscule amount. 'It's him.'

"Why do you think we came all the way here to the Leave Village?" Gaara's eyes had snapped back to Kankuro.

"P-pleas listen to me Gaara! Th-they lashed out f-first!" Kankuro pleaded.

"Shut up." Gaara growled. "I'll kill you."

Kankuro gasped. "I'm s-s-sorry!"

Gaara easily jumped to the ground and faced the Leaf genin. "I apologize for him." He looked to his siblings. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play around."

"I know." Kankuro said dejectedly.

Sasuke jumped to the ground in front of Naruto as the three visitors walked away.

"Gaara." Naruto whispered to himself; but Sasuke heard him.

The raven growled. He didn't like that the red head could leave his name on Naruto's lips…

* * *

The recent encounter with Gaara had Naruto's mind reeling. He'd almost forgotten about that day in Suna.

"Argh!" Naruto yelled into his empty apartment. "Why can't things just stay the way they are? Why do stupid red heads have to show up and screw with my mind?!"

"_Kukukukuku. Silly humans and their emotions."_ Kyuubi chuckled in Naruto's head. _"You know, it's really fun to watch you squirm kit."_

"Shut up you stupid fox!" Naruto growled. He really hated it when the demon decided to speak to him. It was bad enough that the thing made him an outcast – but then it had to taunt him about it as well.

"Naruto, who are you talking to?" Came an uncertain voice.

Naruto whipped around to find Sasuke standing in his doorway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto seethed. That was the last thing he needed, for Sasuke to think he was crazy.

"_Maybe you are?" _Kyuubi chuckled inside Naruto's head.

"I…I was worried about you. You stormed off after we talked to those people from Suna. I thought you might be upset." Sasuke said, concern laced in his voice.

"I'm fine!" Naruto yelled, throwing his arms out. "Just leave me alone!"

Sasuke was starting to get pissed off. He'd been trying to get through Naruto's head since their mission to Suna, but he'd gotten nowhere. And now he'd found out that this Gaara person was leaving a heavy impression on his friend! It wasn't fair!

The raven lunged forward, pushing Naruto against a wall. "You're _not_ fine! I can tell! Get it through your thick skull that I'm just trying to help you!"

"Help me? Why would you even fucking care?" Naruto screamed in Sasuke's face as he tried to wiggle out of the stronger boy's grasp. He felt the demon's strength threating to assist him.

"I don't know!" Sasuke admitted. He'd been asking himself that question for months. "I just do." Sasuke's voice suddenly got quieter. "Please…just let me help you."

Naruto continued to struggle in the raven's grasp, even as onyx eyes threatened to cry. He just needed to get away; Kyuubi's chakra was starting to reach levels that he couldn't control, and if that happened…Naruto didn't even want to think about that. "Please Sasuke, just let me go!" Naruto pleaded.

Instead of letting him go, Sasuke leaned forward, capturing the boy's lips with his own. Naruto immediately stopped struggling – the shock was too much.

Sasuke slowly pulled away from Naruto, shock raging through his body. 'What the hell did I just do?' He looked up into blue eyes; the shock and horror illuminated in them sent Sasuke over the edge – he fled as quickly as he could.

**Well, there you have it. Another chapter in - I had some massive writer's block on this one, so a big thank you to Kaiji Maeda Sama for inspiration!**

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